Eve yielded to temptation, and through her influence

Adam sinned.

The Great Controversy PAGE 531

Chapter 33— The First Great Deception

Before the foundation of the world it was according to the determinate counsel of God that man should

be created, endowed with power to do the divine will.

God's Amazing Grace - Page 129

Now that man

has sinned

what is his

condition?

“At its very source human nature was corrupted”.

Review and Herald, April 16, 1901 par. 5

Genesis 8:21 for the imagination of man's heart is evil from

his youth;

Now that

human nature

is corrupted,

what is Satan’s

plan to cause

him to

continue in

rebellion?

Through the medium of influence, taking advantage of the action of mind on mind, he (Satan) prevailed on Adam to sin…… And ever since then sin has continued its hateful work, reaching from mind to mind. Every sin committed awakens the echoes of the original sin.

{Review and Herald, April 16, 1901 par. 5}

Contending for the

mind on mankind

If there is any way by which Satan can gain access to the mind, he will sow his tares and cause them to grow until they will yield an abundant harvest. In no case can Satan obtain dominion over the thoughts, words, and actions, unless we voluntarily open the door and invite him to enter. He will then come in and, by catching away the good seed sown in the heart, make of none effect the truth. {Adventist Home 402.2}

By what means can mankind resist the

promptings of his fallen nature through

Satan’s influence on the mind?

There are thoughts and feelings suggested and aroused by Satan that annoy even the best of men; but if they are not cherished, if they

are repulsed as hateful, the soul is not contaminated with guilt, and no other is

defiled by their influence. Mind Character and personality Vol. 2 chap 46 Human Relations

The sin of evil speaking begins with the cherishing of evil thoughts. Guile includes impurity in all its forms. An impure thought tolerated, an unholy desire cherished, and the soul is contaminated, its integrity compromised. "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." If we would not commit sin, we must shun its very beginnings. Every emotion and desire must be held in subjection to reason and conscience. Every unholy thought must be instantly repelled. Testimonies for the Church Volume Five Chap 17 Brotherly Love

The Authority to choose what is right

The ability to carry out my choice to do what is

right

The will is the governing power in the nature of man, bringing all the other faculties under its sway. The will is not the taste or the inclination, but it is the deciding power which works in the children of men unto obedience to God or unto disobedience. {Testimonies for the Church Vol. 5 1882-1889 pg513}

It is not in the power of Satan to force anyone to sin. Sin is the sinner's individual act. Before sin exists in the heart, the consent of the will must be given, and as soon as it is given, sin is triumphant, and hell rejoices. {Signs of the Times, December 18, 1893 par. 10}

Are there Categories

of sin?

SIN IN CATEGORIES

SINS OF COMMISSION

SINS OF OMISSION

SINS OF IGNORANCE

SIN OF COMMISSION & SIN OF OMISSION:

A) Sin of Commission: To act in contravention (or in

breach) of a policy, law or command.

B) Sin of Omission: To neglect a duty or obligation

Romans 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the

commandment holy, and just, and good.

James 4: 17. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good,

and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

SINS OF OMISSION AND SINS

OF COMMISSION

The law of God condemns not only what we have done but what we have not done. We will, in the day of final accounts, find a register of the sins of omission as well as the sins of commission. God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing. It is not enough that by your own measurement of character you prove you have done no positive wrong. The fact that one has done no positive good will be enough to condemn him as a wicked and slothful servant. {1888 Materials 374.2}

SINS OF OMISSION AND SINS

OF COMMISSION

My brethren, in the name of the Lord I counsel you to seek him by repentance and confession. Let your sins of omission and commission may go beforehand to judgment, that pardon may be written against your names, that you may be accounted worthy to stand before him when he shall appear. {The Ellen White 1888 Materials Chap 162- The Danger of Self –Sufficiency in God’s Work}

SINS OF OMISSION AND SINS

OF COMMISSION

The duty of setting a good example must be considered. We must weigh faithfully the results of our actions. If we think a certain course will do us no harm, we should then look at it from the standpoint of others and ask how it will affect them. There are sins of omission, as well as sins of commission, and all of us are influencing the course of others. A neglect when the work is laid before you, is as wrong as to perform some sinful action, for in neglecting your duty you fail to supply your link in the chain of God's great work. Your influence does not sustain His cause. . . . { Manuscript Releases Vol. 11 [Nos. 851-920] MR NO 906 – An appeal for Acceptance of the Message of Christ’s Righteousness pg297.1}

Matthew 23: 23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,

hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and

cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of

the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to

have done, and not to leave the other undone.

James 2:10-12 For whosoever shall keep the whole

law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 11.

For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also,

Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if

thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

12. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be

judged by the law of liberty.

SIN OF IGNORANCE

Sin of Ignorance: To act in breach of God’s law unaware.

Should I confess sins which I am unaware of ?

Leviticus 4:13, 14

And if the whole congregation of

Israel sin through ignorance, and

the thing be hid from the eyes of

the assembly, and they have done

somewhat against any of the

commandments of the Lord

concerning things which should

not be done, and are guilty; 14.

When the sin, which they have

sinned against it, is known, then

the congregation shall offer a

young bullock for the sin, and

bring him before the tabernacle

of the congregation.

True confession is always of a specific character, and acknowledges particular sins. They may be of such a nature as only to be brought before God, they may be wrongs that should be confessed before individuals who have suffered injury through them, or they may be of a general kind that should be made known in the congregation of the people. But all confession should be definite and to the point, acknowledging the very sins of which you are guilty.(Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, 639.) {Pr 240.3}

SIN OF IGNORANCE NO LONGER

John 9:39-41. 39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into

this world, that they which see not might see; and that they

which see might be made blind. 40. And some of the

Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said

unto him, Are we blind also? 41. Jesus said unto them, If ye

were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see;

therefore your sin remaineth.

John 15:22,24 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they

had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. 24. If

I had not done among them the works which none other man

did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and

hated both me and my Father.

Acts 17: 30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at;

but now commandeth all men every where to repent.

Romans 5:13. For until the law sin was in the world: but

sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Imputed: means charged or held against, from the Greek

word ellogeitai meaning; “taken into account”.)

The text can therefore be read “sin is not taken into

account when there is no law”. Does this mean that God’s

law did not exist at some point in time, or does it mean

knowledge of God’s law?

“God's law is immutable and eternal; for it is the transcript of his character” {Review and Herald, May 3, 1898 par. 12}

The sin that calls down the wrath of God unmixed with mercy must be of the most heinous character. Is the world to be left in darkness as to the nature of this sin?--Most assuredly not. God does not deal thus with His creatures. His wrath is never visited upon sins of ignorance. Before His judgments are brought upon the earth, the light in regard to this sin must be presented to the world, that man may know why these judgments are to be inflicted, and may have opportunity to escape them. Signs of the Time, November 1, 1899 par. 7}

Light makes manifest and reproves the errors that were concealed in darkness; and as light comes, the life and character of men must change correspondingly, to be in harmony with it. Sins that were once sins of ignorance because of the blindness of the mind, can no more be indulged in without incurring guilt. As increased light is given, men must be reformed, elevated, and refined by it, or they will be more perverse and stubborn than before the light came.— {Gospel Workers 92 104.2}

It is plainly stated in the Scriptures that if the whole congregation sin through ignorance, the priests shall make an atonement for the sins when they are made apparent, and the sin of ignorance shall be forgiven.

The work of Jesus is to forgive the sins of the past, but if light comes from heaven to the church, and men refuse the light because its acceptance involves a cross, then they stand guilty before God; for they have made it manifest that they love the world more than they love Christ and the truth. 5BC 1145 (1893). {Last Day Events 218.2} {Review and Herald, April 25,

1893 par. 10}

Those who have an opportunity to hear the truth and yet take no pains to hear or understand it, thinking that if they do not hear they will not be accountable, will be judged guilty before God the same as if they had heard and rejected. There will be no excuse for those who choose to go in error when they might understand what is truth. In His sufferings and death Jesus has made atonement for all sins of ignorance, but there is no provision made for willful blindness.

We shall not be held accountable for the light that has not reached our perception, but for that which we have resisted and refused. A man could not apprehend the truth which had never been presented to him, and therefore could not be condemned for light he had never had.--5BC 1145 (1893). {Last Day Events 218.2} {Review and

Herald, April 25, 1893 par. 10}

‘If light come, and that light is set aside or rejected, then comes condemnation and the frown of God; but before the light comes, there is no sin, for there is no light for them to reject.' Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 116.

The commission of a known sin silences the witnessing voice of the Spirit and separates the soul from God . Sin is the transgression of the law."The Great Controversy Chapter 27 Modern Revivals pg 472

QUICK RECAP

Sin is the transgression of the law. Temptation is not a sin

Our only definition of sin is that given in the word of God; it is "the transgression of the law;"

Sin is the sinner's individual act. Before sin exists in the heart, the consent of the will must be given,

The commission of a known sin silences the witnessing voice of the Spirit and separates the soul from God

Before the light comes, there is no sin, for there is no light for them to reject.‘

We shall not be held accountable for the light that has not reached our perception, but for that which we have resisted and refused. A man could not apprehend the truth which had never been presented to him, and therefore could not be condemned for light he had never had

If sins of ignorance

do not carry guilt

who would qualify?

“Those whom Christ commends in the judgment may have known little of theology, but they have cherished His principles. Through the influence of the divine Spirit they have been a blessing to those about them. Even among the heathen are those who have cherished the spirit of kindness; before the words of life had fallen upon their ears, they have befriended the missionaries, even ministering to them at the peril of their own lives. Desire of Ages 638.2

Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by human instrumentality, yet they will not perish. Though ignorant of the written law of God, they have heard His voice speaking to them in nature, and have done the things that the law required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God.” Desire of Ages 638.2

Ignorance in fallen nature

The baby at birth can make no distinctions of moral value; no intelligent choice to do right or wrong, therefore what accountability can that child have to God in this stage

of its life? In my view they should be considered as Amoral. What is Amoral?

Webster’s Dictionary

AMORAL:

a) : being neither moral nor immoral; specifically : lying outside the sphere to which moral judgments apply

b) : lacking moral sensibility <infants are amoral>

Deuteronomy 1

34.And the LORD heard the voice of

your words, and was wroth, and sware,

saying,

35. Surely there shall not one of these

men of this evil generation see that

good land, which I sware to give unto

your fathers. ….

39. Moreover your little ones, which ye

said should be a prey, and your

children, which in that day had no

knowledge between good and evil, they

shall go in thither, and unto them will I

give it, and they shall possess it.

As the little infants come forth immortal from their dusty beds, they

immediately wing their way to their mothers’ arms. They meet again

nevermore to part. But many of the little ones have no mother there.

We listen in vain for the rapturous song of triumph from the mother.

The angels receive the motherless infants and conduct them to the

tree of life.

Selected Messages, Book 2 pg. 260

Proverbs 22:6. Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Children do not stand guilty for sin until they

arrive at a stage of spiritual responsibility.

Having the power or authority to choose with

knowledge.

Although

children lack

moral sensibility

How did Jesus

view them?

Matthew 18: 3,4

3.Verily I say unto you,

Except ye be converted,

and become as little

children, ye shall not enter

into the kingdom of

heaven.

4.Whosoever therefore

shall humble himself as

this little child, the same

is greatest in the kingdom

of heaven.

Mark 10:13-16

13. And they brought young children

to him, that he should touch them:

and his disciples rebuked those that

brought them.

14. But when Jesus saw it, he was

much displeased, and said unto

them, Suffer the little children to

come unto me, and forbid them not:

for of such is the kingdom of God.

15. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever

shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not

enter therein.

16. And he took them up in his arms,

put his hands upon them, and

blessed them.

Notice, Jesus doesn't say that the Kingdom belongs to little children or that they are already in the Kingdom. He says that those who inherit or

possess the kingdom will be "like" these children.

What characteristic of children is Jesus pointing to as an essential characteristic of disciples?

Entering the Kingdom as a Little Child

Trust HumilityInnocence

Infants can do nothing to merit the Kingdom, yet there characteristics are necessary to receiving the Kingdom.

Verily I say unto you,

Whosoever shall not

receive the kingdom of

God as a little child, he

shall not enter therein

(Mark 10:15)

The word translated

"receive" is Greek

dechomai, which in this

context means, 'be

receptive of, be open to,

approve, accept. How

did the little children

come to Jesus? Freely,

openly, humbly.

They come to God with

no posturing of

worthiness, Rather, they

come with the above

qualities. These are the

qualities of children

that Jesus seems to be

holding up as necessary

for entrance to the

Kingdom

Innocence

Trust

Humility

Fallen nature is a product of

Adam’s sin and it is

inherited by all children,

along with a lack of moral

sensibility. Yet Jesus does

not deem their fallen nature

as a deterrent in using them

to illustrate certain

attributes of character

which are essential for

entering the kingdom of

God. These apparently are

the foundational attributes

of those who are truly the

disciples of God. Those

who will ‘receive’ the word

of God and are faithful to it.

But doesn’t the

bible teach that

we are born into

this world as

sinner?

END

OF

PART 1